About the 'Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco®'

Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco® (IFF) is an annual event showcasing the independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world.

IFF is also a platform for the Iranian filmmakers living around the globe to express their vision and talent through the artistic medium of film.

Iranian Film Festival (IFF) was established by the organizers of the Tiburon International Film Festival [www.TiburonFilmFestival.com], a (501)(c)(3) nonprofit cultural, education and arts organization, to celebrate the Iranian film and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

IFF is open to all genres.

To submit your film, send a DVD and a press kit [synopsis, bio, and some stills from your film] to the address below.

In Iran women are the key to the transformation of the country. Women played an influential role in the downfall of the Shah in 1979 and the rise to power of Muhammad Khatemi. After Khatemi became president, discussions in the media started an ongoing debate on dress code, the chador, punishments for criminals such as diyet and rajm, polygamy, the muta (short-term) marriage, women’s abilities to become judges, women’s right to divorce, their visability in the cinema, television and the media. Women claimed that the culture of patriarchy rather than religion kept women under pressure.

Where do Iranian women stand vis a vis religious authorities and pro-freedom intellectuals?

Hakan TokyayDirector

Enes Hakan Tokyay is a director from Stuttgart. As a graduate student in Audiovisual Media University Stuttgart (HdM) he made several short films and the second season of the film documentary series " Women in IslamicCountries" shown at the International Film Festival Sao Paulo and on Turkish television. Zwei dieser Filme (zu Algerien und Pakistan) wurden für die Reihe "Islam im Film" des 28. Two of these films (on Algeria and Pakistan) were for the series "Islam in the film" of 28 Filmfestivals Max-Ophüls-Preis im Januar 2007 ausgewählt. Film festivals Max Ophüls Prize in January 2007.